Amazing Allotment Transformation | No Dig | Spring Gardening

Welcome back to another update from my no dig allotment! In this video, I’ll take you through some recent activities on the plot, from cleaning the nature pond to planting out delicious veggies and flowers.

First off, I’ll show you how I cleaned the nature pond of leaves, but here’s the twist: I left the leaves on the side for a day or two, allowing bugs a chance to climb back into the pond. It’s all about creating a balanced ecosystem! I also planted up the pond with some water forgetmenots and other pond plants.

In the metal raised beds, I’m excited to plant out oakleaf lettuce, a favourite in my household. Alongside, I’ll be planting beetroot, parsnips, shallots, and sowing carrots directly into the no dig allotment. Plus, I’m prepping for the last frost by sowing more flowers, ready to bring colour and pollinators to the plot.

This year, I’ve opted for convenience and space-saving by planting potatoes in 30-litre buckets. I’ll be growing Charlotte, Maris Piper, and Pink Fir Apple varieties, and I’ll share some tips on successful bucket potato growing.

A special shoutout to Cheryl for her help, especially since I’ve been nursing a rib injury. Cheryl’s been busy planting up spring bulbs into the flower beds, adding more beauty to the allotment.

But it’s not just about plants; it’s about wildlife too! I’ve installed a Robin nest box to encourage these delightful birds to make a home here. And I have plans to further enrich the ecosystem by adding a bat box to the bordering trees, inviting these nocturnal creatures to join us in the garden.

Items mentioned in the video:

The elastic was 12mm

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333676581757?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=2UO1JFokS8a&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=upbMWJX3Rr6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Hooks for the beds:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145419464652?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8z-lIwbySdG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=upbMWJX3Rr6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Buckets for storage In the polytunnel:

https://amzn.to/4cm2ty6

S Hooks in polytunnel:

https://amzn.to/4anDskn

Stay tuned for more updates on how the allotment evolves throughout the season, and don’t forget to subscribe for more gardening adventures!

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What a beautiful day it is today God the birds are absolutely buzzing today they’re taking advantage of the bird feeder but I’ve just had a little look around and it’s absolutely amazing how much this Garden has come on in the last couple of weeks with all the rain we’ve

Had and all the friends that have helped me plant up as well and get all those jobs done so Cheryl Linda oi and Lisa and all came over and we had some nice cakes and coffees over we a little thank you of me for all the help that they’

Given me the last week or so so I’m really grateful now Cheryl came over bless her and underneath the Fig Tree she planted up all my spring bulbs my daffodils tetes some hense um some poached egg plants and a lot of other things all under this that’s all Den now so I’m absolutely

Thrilled about that so I’ve opened up the par tunnel and it seems really really warm at the moment but we all know that’s false spring but it was really surprising I looked at a photograph the other day of me at the poly tunnel from like maybe like about a

12 month 18 months ago when I first took over the plot and how different it is now it’s a completely different world but I’ve done loads I’ve done loads of little jobs and like I mentioned other people have as well but I popped to the

Great Vine plot as well um 2 days ago picked up some frogs Bor cuz there was a lot in the Little Pond down down there there was n up here but too much down in that pond and I know that I would oversaturate that tiny little Pond I’ve

Got on there so I got a bucket went and got them brought some up here added all the pond plants raped out all the leaves as well cuz not all of them but most of them because it was it was too many in there put them on the side to let all

The critters crawl back into the pond in the next couple of days and now I’m ready for other things to happen in that pond get some more pond plants and and everything else so the Frog spawn went in so yeah that pond now is ready definitely ready for Springs hopefully

We get some frog spawn that will turn into tadpoles and then turn into frogs so fingers crossed I also went to Bean cou and I picked up some of those trees and the reason I got those for was um for the container wise trees for underneath

There’s no holes in it so I can actually bottom water so they were absolutely perfect and then I popped over the TK Max now if you haven’t a few people have asked me recently about my harvesting trugs and baskets so I normally go to TK

Max and I have a look over this you know over in their storage sites and at the back of the shelves you normally have these like nice baskets and also if you can find them there have a look in the kitchen area as well they tend to do a

Lot of little baskets and wire things as well so I got my egg basket from there my egg harvesting baskets so yeah if you’re looking for nice little harvesting baskets pop to TK Maxx and also I man I managed to get two doors as well on Facebook Marketplace and the guy

Managed to put in my car and when I got to the plot all he was sh so he could put them in the polyon and they’re going to be perfect for the front of the new shed rebuild when I get when I get better for that but they’re beautiful

You know and I had them for free as well so check your Facebook Marketplace because you’ll get those little Bargains on there that’ll benefit your plot and look at this Robin as well that um Cheryl said gave me well she bought it for me she bought one for a s one for

Her but yeah they’re nice up there just literally just screws into the Frame And like I mentioned I added some pond plants in here so I’ve had some water Iris donated by another plot holder and I also put in the water forget me knots and some grasses and also I’ve also been giving some more PM plants for over there as well but I might put them

Deeper but I’ve noticed the mini um lies that Nano at plot Number Nine um gave me last year they’re starting to come up as well there now so all these leaves will be put on the compost he like I said and then this area here I’ve got a pile of

THS that are going to go in turn this more into a Woodland area so it’s all coming along now I’m really happy with the space now I’ve talked about this before about having a pond in your plot how important it is brings a lot of wildlife in but

Also if you’re going to build one this year make sure you have a sloping Beach area that’s that Critters like you know birds and hedgehogs can climb out if they fall in and believe me so many hedgehogs fall into Garden ponds because they make so many embankments in and

Then put concrete slabs all around it and they can’t just climb out you know they falling in but given that help Hand by putting a log in or like I did put a nice little Beach area so if they do come in they can walk straight up the

Beach and get straight up the pond and you don’t want to find a dead Hedgehog in your pond that’s like one of the worst things that happen so think ahead when you’re building your ponds this year speaking of wild life it’s also really nice to see the birds now we’re

Starting to return back to the bird feeders I also added a new Robin nesting box to the back of the plot I’ve noticed a lot of robins hanging around this plot through the winter so I think I’ll give them a little help in hand and hopefully Mr Robin and Mrs Robin I’ll have

Somewhere to put the their eggs this year so fingers cross for that I put it at the back of the plot so I’ll keep you updated and also another thing that I’m going to do this year is I’ve ordered a bat box for the top of the tree so I’m

Going to try and introduce some bats to the plot as well there is lots that fly around here but how beneficial that be something to fly down in the evening times eat all those beetles and bugs that are affecting my crops um so that’s another thing I’ve done I’m going to get

A nice little backat box for the back of the tree should be coming in the next couple of days I don’t think I’m going to be fitting now the way I am at the moment with my ribs but it will get fitted at some point so yeah case have a

Back box a bird box a nice little bird feeder something for the Wildlife I’ve also started put up the obelisks and I also seed some sweet peas little bit early outside but I flee them over right at the front of the plot that’s where normally put them I put the obis Obelisk

Obelisk there and hopefully now they’ll climb up a little bit they be protected from with some fleece and fingers crossed then that they’ll be the first succession I’ve already got some that are already shooting up in the poly tunnel that could go out but I’m holding

Back with those ones but we’ll see what happens with the direct so ones in late March so if you notice as well I’ve actually unwrapped the banana plant so this is all now taking all the fleece off all the bubble wrap all the bags that were protect over winter he’ll

Start become green again now and um yeah hopefully we’ll have a nice big banana plant in the middle of the plot just like last year so yeah he’s out now fingers crossed any I get any more Frost I’ll quickly wrap it all back up but I’m

Going to take a gamble on it this year I think it’d be fine I’ve also sewn in this bed already some par Snips and I don’t like pnes at all but I figured my family do and it’s another winter crop that I can give to family for STS and cassels and for roast

Dinners and I also sewed in this under this closer some beetroot again don’t like beetroot bet it’s one of those things that this is a kitchen garden and I am supplying it to my family as well so I put in some beetroot which is new this year and also some par snip I’ve

Also got some Gladiator f1s that I’m going to pour in as well at some point and um clh them over once these germinate I’ll probably move it across and then do some more H these white sprouting broccoli they’re really doing much but they can stay in for now and

Then these two new TPS that I’ve got these are going to be for sweet peas and I think M too so they’ve come out they’re beautiful they you know they they’re lovely structures and I think they’ll just look really nice and complement the plot here but I’m really

Happy now that the structures are starting to come up in the plot and you know won’t be long before those Bean structures have be put up and all your TS and everything will be climbing up in you know in April time so yeah start thinking about those structures that

You’re going to put on and where you going to put them and don’t just put them on orderly lines do what I do you know make little rooms make little structures that you can hide around and yeah everything’s got its place in this Garden for a reason and hopefully in

Spring and summer you’ll see what I’ve done so as you can see I put some of the lettuces out now these are the Oakleaf red and the Oakleaf green and also in between I put some liler spring onions um these will probably be netted over as

Well at some point but for now I’m taking a gamble we haven’t seen no pigeons but we’ll see what happens this this area then will have to be cleared once I’m a bit better and I decided I’m going to put a nice pea gravel all the way through here cuz sometimes the pond

Is Overflow a little bit from all the rain and I want this to stay as dry as possible so gets a bit muddy here and then over this area here I’m going then like I mentioned plant up all my phon and then across here then some nice

Spring and summer bulbs they still got in pot so there’s loads of plans and loads of little jobs but they’re slowly surely getting ticked off so this is exciting I I come over and had a look and let me show you look what’s coming up here the asparagus has

Come in I thought there were some over here but turn out it wasn’t it was a it was a weed but over here surely there is some asparagus so this is the Obelisk I was talking about I flee up and direct s some sweet peas in there and then the

Wild garlic over here is starting to go the flour already but that’s a nice little addition to the plot I think next I’m going to plant up all of this um I know another plot older Sher is going to come over and help me plant all the spring bulbs into here so

That’ll be another job ticked off also over here if you’ve noticed I haven’t got the clips anymore like I’ve got on this one so I’ve come up with an idea of getting some elastic and I put it around my beds really tightly and it keeps the net so tight so

That’s a little hack there that I’ve got and all I did was just tie it around here I’ll pop a link to this elastic in the description so that if you’ve got these beds or some wooden ones you can do it too because I’ve got a pile of

Elastic I ordered enough I measured all the raised beds down on the Great Vine plot as well the wooden ones but some tiny little hooks as well so I can put elastic around Net it up hook it over as well so the so the elastic don’t pop off

So that should be solving my problem with those Nets fingers crossed I also added this little bee house that I built the other week as well up on top of the poly tunnel so fingers crossed this will be a home for some lovely little solitary bees inside the poly tunnel is

SE in Gore honestly I’ve sewed more the gems these are some of my um Oh look The Little Gems have actually um germinated first time ever ever I have managed to germinate Little Gems everything now is coming out popping up all the zenas but look at it spring is definitely nearly

Hug here look at it I’m so excited so out of all the daers that I saved and dug out this is the only one the cafe o um sadly all the others perished they were quite small but this one seems to have survived all the ones that I

Actually left in the ground I think they’re doing okay so lesson learned here that my soil and my climate over here seems to be okay for these um daes to stay in the ground but this one seems to be okay it’s quite tough I did have a

Few little squidgy ones here but this one is tough as nails so I think I’m going to plant this one up now in a month or so but for now I’m going to start it off in some damp compost inside so if you notice I am a little

Bit more perkier than last week because the pain killers that my doctor G me now seem to be working a treat um it’s still so but they’re holding me back a little bit so that I’m not wincing every time I move and stuff so I can actually walk

Now and but yeah so that means I’m just smiling a bit more and I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s messaged commented emailed sent me gifts you know because I was unwell you know I’m truly grateful for that you know nobody needs to do that but it was

Really really nice and it meant a world to me that when I was you know feeling at one of my lowest and I was feeling a bit down about the garden that people were pushing me on saying you know it happens these things do happen so I just

Want to say thank you so much for everyone who’s subscribed lately as well and all my old subscribers but I’ve had a bit of a boost lately as well with some subscribers so thank you also a massive thank you to the people who have sent me little super thanks by clicking

That little super super thanks underneath the videos and that actually does supply all the bird feed for the birds on my plot so every time you see birds flying at these know that you have contributed towards the feed and for the nature and everything that I do naturewise go from those little super

Thanks and the buy me the coffees and so all the links are in the description but thank you so much for everyone who donates to the channel generally does help at all hly I’m a student nurse but it really does help so thank you so much

For everyone who has donated in the last months and the last year to help the nature and help this channel grow so thank you so much so I’ve had a bit of a brainstorm as well I’m thinking about removing this Obelisk from here and putting an archway that goes up here and

Into this pler here and then put another Archway from here to here so I’m thinking then that might compartmentalize some of the plot as well a bit more and then I need to do a massive tip run all this rubbish now of bits and Bobs of jobs and this is the

Part of the lot you know that you hide away but yeah these are all bags of rubbish that I need to now when I feel a bit better take them to the tip and I’ve got some plans for this area as well that Linda did but this area down the

Bottom here as well there’s a cal frame here in a pile of spring bulbs that I’m going to plant out and some Hazel canes for the TPS but this area has got quite a lot of weeds in it now I’m going to rebark the path down here and then maybe

Move this IBC further River up to the shed area here so I can collect water from there and then yeah I’ve got a few more plans for this area but if you can think of something that I could do on shoe I don’t want to put more flowers in

But I might put a few more raised beds in but we’ll see it’s all coming together now and I’m absolutely so excited for spring so I’ve definitely got that spring back in my step because it’s all now looking just how I planned it all through winter and

I was telling you all about my plans but it’s finally coming together all the puzzle pieces but yeah I’m pleased with it so far so these are the doors I was talking about that I got a Marketplace I mean they’re wooden doors glass they’re really strong as well so I think they’ll

Be perfect for the front of the new shed and I can open them up then in the summer as well the spring cabbages God I’m Harvest them already I’ve taken a pile of leaves off especially from the other side and the onions as well this

Could do with a good water today to be fair for some reason I got a rogue potato there but that’ll have to come out but yeah the Garlic’s up the onions and the spring cabbages they’re looking Grand so I’m definitely going to do that again next year I think spring cabbages

Outside for me just doesn’t work they get battered and battered and battered but the ones indoors they have worked an absolute charm you know just keep them watered a little bit at the start of September October I haven’t watered them at all then through you know through

Winter and then give them a good little feed of um seaweed now and water them now and they’ be perfect for you know April and May and then I’ll take them all out and then the tomatoes go in and then on so on and so on and so on

There’s always a cycle so don’t just use your poly tunnel for you know summer for tomatoes use it all year round so here’s a little hack of mine as well is I bought some of these um buckets that you can actually put flowers in you know

They for the little 9in pots but what I’ve done is I’ve used them for my labels and for my pens and for my knives and some twine and things but they’re handy they’re really really handy to have and all I did was make sure I B

These over a little bit more to stop the that metal from rubbing on the plastic but they’re perfect little storage things up here and also I’ve mentioned these S hooks as well before and they are absolutely another little poly tunnel um little accessory that you can

Get these ones are black you can get them in silver and white as well I probp a I’ll pop a little link to those in the description and these little buckets if you want to go and get them but yeah they’re perfect for just keeping all

Your little tools out of the way in your poly tunels to grab whenever you need them so this is the little um propagator that I got from BQ and inside here I’ve got some pink chips of filer um some corn flowers this is a double mix I

Think this is purple and pink in there and they also did some more cabbages some Golden Acre derly Greyhound and some calbos more calbos and I’ve also got some re red eonia in here as well so yeah they are staying in there nice and warm until they H germinate then take

These off people seem to leave them on for too long once they germinate take them off like as you can see they’re starting to come up now so a couple of more days until they look like this and then these come off otherwise you get

Tend to get a lot of dampening off and The Roots and the the stems start rotting so don’t be don’t be think you got to overprotect them get those germinate with them and take them off unless you got a bit of frost and then pop them on overnight but don’t leave

Them all day sweating in there in the heat cuz it won’t do your little seedlings any good and they’ll just they’ll just shoot up and you’ll have leggy plants as well so we’re now coming up to the end of March and um it’s potato season coming up so I think I’m

Going to start a few charlott off this week in some buckets to have an early Harvest and I do it every year pop them in the poly tunnel and let them start off there and then I tend to do a lot of them there I tend to you leave them all

In there till the last frost and then I bring the buckets out but I’ve just thought the herb garden that was here last year now that used to be where the potato buckets go so maybe this to be where the potato buckets go or I could

Take them to the Great Vine Garden as well so haven’t decided where the potato buckets are going yet but yeah get some potato started very soon so this year as I mentioned I’m doing Charlotte um Maris Piper pink for apple and then the blue ones off Nano at plot Number n so yeah

They’re the only ones I’m doing so far I know then I’ll probably be tempted as well but I’m trying to stick to my guns this year but we’ll see you know what happens you get tempted did those garden centers I’m trying my hardest I’m trying my hardest you trying your hardest we’re

Not a we I’ve also got the fox gloves that I sewed and I’ve mentioned before that I seed them late last year and they’ve come up a treat now so they need to be planted up over here by the pond so I think I’m going to do a nice little

Embankment of fox gloves there um I think that look really really nice well have phones here Fox gloves here and this Pond this Pond I’ve built last year I don’t know if you’re a new subscriber and you don’t know about so this pump here it’s actually connected to the

Solar panel on top of the roof and through Spring and Summer and Autumn it constantly pumps water and it’s just it’s from the Sun so it’s free energy and yeah that’s just a little addition to the pond now you can buy the little solar winds as well I got one of those

That I pour in because sometimes I don’t I don’t come over for a few days and that pump might not work CU I might have turned it off so I’ve got a little solar one as well that I po in so I’ve got two little fountains for the pond I have got

Plans so I’m thinking of lowering this lineer here and having a stream that goes all the way down maybe next year I’ll do that and have a pump then at the bottom that pumps the water back up into the pond we shall see about that but it’s it’s something that I’ve always

Wanted I’ve always wanted like a really nice stream and I think that might be the plan for this as well so we shall see also this has been added as well some re seeds and also this um strawberry planter that I dropped to the side it was given to me by another plot

Holder oi and then I’ve also got my rose tree that another view of Michelle sent to me as well thank you so much Michelle that was last year but it’s coming along beautifully now and this I thought would be a perfect little toaden frog house so these are buckets that were

Donated by another plot holder and they’re perfect for harvesting and collect in Weeds so these are all the leaves now that were in the pond I’m going to collect most of them up and um put them in the compost deep all right I’ll try so most of the critters now that

Would have left all this that was in the pond and crawl back in there is a few couple there now that will sneak back in the pond but yeah make sure if you are going debris out of your pond to leave it on the side for a bit because you

Don’t want to be throwing all those Critters that were inside the pond into your compost it because they’ll end up dying so give them a chance here you go all adds to the compost for next year the ho Garden is really settled in now everything is settling the chives

God look at it I’m so pleased with it so I’ve decided I’m going to move this barrel away I think at some point and put a gate there gravel all of this or maybe bark all this area after I’ve weeded it so I’ve got access to the poly

Tunnel but I do want to put a gate there because I don’t want anyone to come in and then just go around to the back of the poly tunnel and get in that way but yeah that’s the idea for there but you can you can see the spring cabbages

Through there oh yeah so I’ve decided I’m going to start sew in a few corett as well now I know it’s a little bit early but if you plant them like so hopefully then they don’t rot off you know you don’t want them flat side down

Like this and then they tend to rot off so if you put them that side up fingers crossed you might get yourself a nice little corette plant now I’ve decided I’m only doing yellow corett this year unless someone gives me a cette plant that I get tempted by which always

Happens I’m sticking to Yellow I see this every year and I’m going to stick to it I’m going to try and I think I’ve got some room in the propagator there we go yellow cette I am going to try my hardest to stick to my plan this year I’ve got got

A plan in place it’s other people that throw spanners in the work but they tempt you with those extra plants that they’ve sold and said try these These are really nice These are nice flowers but I’m going to try my hardest stick to my plan and it never happens but I’m

Going to try I’m going to try really hard this year so I mean cett you know a thousand people around you be begging you to take a cette and a tomato plant off you in the next couple of months so I’m sticking to my yellow ones this

Year for now now if you haven’t even started yet or you’ve only sewn a few things on a window cill that is okay I’m lucky that I’ve got a poly tunnel that I can start things off and my climate might be a little bit better or I can

Start things off a little bit earlier than you but do not stress do not worry there’s plenty of time start now I’ve seen people on you know some of the Facebook groups and all saying like am I too late to get potatoes no no we’re too early we’re too enthusiastic we’re too

Excited to start growing we do it every year but if you’ve seen my channel you would have seen last spring I did exactly the same thing I started off in here and it turned into like a nursery garden center it was rammed full of plants The Greenery the foliage was

Actually beautiful and I planted it all out and I had beautiful crops all through the year and flowers as well so a lot of this might look like I’ve got loads going but a lot of it’s flowers as well so and for home it’s for home as

Well so don’t be stressing if you see all this on channels like mine and other people’s and think I haven’t even started yet and start getting anxiety and you know stressing about it don’t stress just enjoy it go get your seeds make a little plan and just sew so like

I said thank you so much to everyone who has donated and I generally I’m so grateful for everything that happen you know that you send because without you guys this wouldn’t be like it is now I would still be battling on through but I just want to say a massive thanks to

Everyone who subscribed lately as well I’ve had a boost so there’s so much to come so many more plans for the great V Garden for the fig and olive plot follow me through this journey now this year so thanks so much for everyone for watching subscribing and everything else blah blah blah thank

You so all these little jobs I am all ticking off now as well are actually you know beneficial to the bigger plan and I’ve been really grateful that friends have come over and helped me with those harder jobs that’ll benefit your plot I’m Danny and this is grow up